Malnutrition

This story first appeared in the Star newspaper Daniel Ereng is Nurse in Charge at Sopel Dispensary, Turkana County. He’s an energetic and passionate health care worker who has made it his personal mission in life to bring health and nutrition services to remote rural communities. Over the last three years, Kenya has been affected by the worst…

The current food and nutrition crisis is driving up acute malnutrition amongst pregnant and breastfeeding women in the worst affected countries. This alarming increase is happening as the converging impact of poverty, conflict, and climate change continues to deepen the nutrition crisis amongst adolescent girls and women. UNICEF’s new report: …

Babo Gure Shabin is a grandmother to Zamzam and Isnini. They live at her house, which is made from straw in the traditional Somali style. Babo has her hands full. She juggles rocking her youngest grandchild with serving a ladle of stew to the others.   The cooking pot, which bubbles above a single fire log, is one of the few small possessions she…

On a sunny afternoon in Kangataruk Village in northern Kenya, a long line of mothers wait with young children, here to receive the measles vaccine. The mothers are calm but tired as they have been waiting for hours. Many are decorated with colourful bead chains of red, yellow, and green, wrapped around their necks in the Turkana tradition.…

In Losol village, northern Kenya, Akalapatan Eeron and her four children haven’t eaten in three days. “My children and I feel exhausted because we’re hungry,” says the 25-year-old single mother who sleeps with the children in a makeshift shelter made of grass matts and blue tarpaulins. The village, located in Turkana County, is surrounded by a…

NAIROBI/NEW YORK, 20 October 2022 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas travelled to northern Kenya this week to meet children suffering from severe acute malnutrition as a result of prolonged drought across the Horn of Africa. During the two-day visit, Chopra Jonas travelled to Turkana County – among 15 drought-affected counties in…

Nairobi, 12 July 2022 – This morning, part of a consignment of 31,500 cartons of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) was officially flagged off to drought affected counties at Afya House in Nairobi. The lifesaving nutrition commodity was procured by UNICEF through a donation by the UK Government in support of the Government of Kenya’s response to…

Kenya has made significant progress in reducing child malnutrition. From 2008-2009 to 2014, the stunting level reduced from 35.3% to 26%, underweight reduced from 16.1% to 11% while wasting reduced from 7% to 4%. Despite progress in a few areas, Kenya is still facing the triple burden of malnutrition, characterized by the co-existence of…

This story first appeared in The Star newspaper. It is a brutally hot, dry and dusty day in Garissa town, in the arid region of North-Eastern Kenya, when Kaha Hassan brings her one-year-old son Sudeys to Medina Health Centre. Two consecutive rains have failed in the region and only a few scrubby bushes and skinny animals have survived. Goats with…

Nairobi, 27 November 2020 – Gender inequality, difficulties in accessing services and poverty are fuelling high rates of unintended pregnancies and HIV in Homa Bay, Western Kenya – according to a new report commissioned by Homa Bay County Government and carried out by the Overseas Development Institute and LVCT Health, with support from UNICEF.…

Nairobi, 23 September 2020 – New measures to tackle malnutrition in Kenya were launched today by the Government of Kenya at the Third National Nutrition Symposium, aiming to improve Kenyans’ health, nutrition and quality of life, boost immunity against diseases like COVID-19, and accelerate social and economic growth in the country. These include…

Situation, In Kenya, more than a quarter of children under the age of five, or two million children, have stunted growth. Stunting is the most frequent form of under-nutrition among young children. If not addressed, it has devastating long-term effects, including diminished mental and physical development. In addition, 11 per cent of children are underweight…, Resources, Research and Reports Research and reports  Impact Report, 2014 - 2018 Looking Back, Moving Forward: Impact Report, 2014 - 2018 Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Kenya, 2017 Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Kenya, 2017, UNICEF's response, UNICEF is engaging with the Government of Kenya to support its ‘Big Four Agenda’ across different sectors, including to enhance food and nutrition security and ensure universal health coverage for all. We implement nutrition strategies and services in communities to improve the diet and feeding practices of mothers, infants and young children.…, COVID-19 response, UNICEF is supporting nutrition interventions for COVID-19 patients, maternal, infant and young child nutrition and the treatment of severe acute malnutrition. We are procuring and distributing therapeutic food and micronutrients supplements. We are also training health and nutrition workers and community volunteers, and developing messages and…, Nutrition in numbers, Medicine Nationwide, 26% of children under the age of five are stunted. This rises to 46% in Kitui and West Pokot. Nutrition 11% of children in Kenya are underweight, with 4% wasted. Mother In 2020, 4.5 million children (82%) aged 6 to 59 months received two doses of vitamin A supplement. Pregnant UNICEF provided iron and folic acid to over 2.9…